Australia's+Timeline


 * =__//** Australia History - Brief Timeline! **//__= ||

BLUE: Important Australian military dates ||
 * > 70,000 BC: Aborigines are thought to have immigrated to Australia ||
 * * 42,000 BC: Aboriginal engravings are found in South Australia dating back to this time. ||
 * * 35,000 BC: Aborigines are thought to have reached Tasmania. ||
 * * 2000 BC: The Dingo is the first domesticated animal to reach Australia. ||
 * * 1300 AD: Marco Polo discusses an great unexplored southern land. ||
 * * 1616 AD: Dirk Hartog, a Dutch explorer, sails to Western Australia. ||
 * * !688 AD: William Dampier, English explorer, arrives on the west coast of Australia. ||
 * * 1770: Captain James Cook lands on the more hospitable east coast of Australia and claims it for Britain. ||
 * * 1804: Hobart Town is established in Van Diemens Land which is now known as Tasmania. ||
 * * 1833: Port Arthur opens as a penal settlement in Tasmania. ||
 * * 1851: The gold rush begins near Bathurst in New South Wales. ||
 * * 1853: The last convicts are shipped to Tasmania. ||
 * * 1868: The last convicts are transported to Australia. ||
 * * 1873: Ayers Rock is first sighted by Europeans. ||
 * * 1876: The last full blooded Tasmanian aboriginal, Truganini, dies. ||
 * * 1901: The Commonwealth of Australia becomes a reality. ||
 * * 1914-1918: Australian troops fight in World War 1. ||
 * * 1920: QANTAS is formed as a local airline. ||
 * * 1923: Vegemite is first produced. ||
 * * 1927: The first Federal Parliament is held in Canberra. ||
 * * 1932: Sydney Harbour Bridge opens. ||
 * * 1933: Western Australia produces a referendum for secession from England but it is rejected by Parliament. ||
 * * 1939-1945: Australian troops fight in World War 2. ||
 * * 1948: The first all Australian car is produced-the Holden. ||
 * * 1956: Melbourne hosts the Olympics. ||
 * * 1965: Australian troops sent to the Vietnam War. ||
 * * 1971: Neville Bonner becomes the first Aboriginal to be a Member of Parliament. ||
 * * 1973: The Sydney Opera House opens. ||
 * * 1981: Asian immigration increases. ||
 * * 1983: Australia wins the America's Cup. ||
 * * 1988: Bicentenary: The new Parliament House opens in Canberra. ||
 * * 2000: The Sydney Olympics held. ||
 * PINK: Important Australian dates